CHL 2015 Top Prospect Testing

St. Catharines, ON - The day before Team Cherry and Team Orr face-off at the 2015 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, the CHL's best young stars were tested on and off the ice with Sport Testing once again putting the league's top skaters and goalies through a battery of tests to gauge fitness and skill levels for NHL management and scouts.

Players seized their chance to showcase their individual strengths. This year's exceptional results were partly fuelled by real-time displays on the scoreboard, and a live announcer, showing players exactly where they stood and putting top performers in the crosshairs for the fellow skaters to follow.

Top ranked prospect and Team Orr captain Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters finished first overall in the on-ice portion of the tests which included a total of 10 specialized drills. Mitchell Marner of the London Knights finished second overall, followed by Travis Konecny of the Ottawa 67's, Vincent Dunn of the Niagara IceDogs, and Brendan Guhle of the Prince Albert Raiders.

On-ice tests included forward and backwards sprints, reaction, weave agility, and transition agility each performed with and without the puck.

In specialized Sport Testing for goalies, Team Cherry and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada goaltender, Samuel Montembeault, walked away with top honours after an array of reaction, agility and movement challenges.

Off-ice testing conducted earlier in the day also demonstrated the athleticism required to be a top prospect. Strength testing, agility runs, sprints and leg power evaluations were conducted under the discerning eyes of NHL scouts and agents.

Team Orr's Konecny led the way with the top overall score in the off-ice component, followed by Lawson Crouse of the Kingston Frontenacs, McDavid in third, Guhle in fourth, and IceDogs' forward Graham Knott in fifth. Konecny and Tri-City Americans defenceman Brandon Carlo duelled in the vertical jump, a key determinant of leg power used across sport. Ultimately Konecny won by a half inch, with a top score of 33.5 inches. Crouse left the competition behind with an outstanding broad jump score of 9'4" and medicine ball toss of 20'8".

BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects combine data has been provided to NHL Central Scouting. Their Sport Testing scores also provide valuable performance benchmarks to coaches and players at all levels of hockey.

The BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which takes place on Thursday January 22, features 40 of the CHL's top draft eligible players for the 2015 NHL Draft. This annual showcase features the next wave of NHL talent from the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.